This invention relates to a plastic protective carrier for a breakable or otherwise fragil container, particularly a glass container used to store laboratory solvents, acids, or other fluids.
Containers used in the sale and storage of laboratory solvents are often made of glass for a variety of reasons. Glass possesses an inherent lack of chemical reactivity with most solvents, glass can be made transparent or relatively opaque depending upon the application, and glass is inexpensive to manufacture. However, glass containers are also easily broken by physical shock, and means must usually be provided to ensure that the glass container will be protected from bumps, falls, and other physical jostling, both during shipment and in the course of use in the laboratory. This is particularly important where the glass container is carrying a solvent which is corrosive, toxic, or is one which must be maintained at a precisely defined level of purity or chemical concentration, for in those cases any accidental spillage or unintended break in container integrity could have serious consequences in terms of safety, property damage, or experimental accuracy.
Protective carriers made of a semi-rigid plastic such as polyethylene have been used for this purpose, these carriers consisting essentially of a large bucket-like container, with a lid and a handle, into which the glass container may be placed. The polyethylene carrier is made to accommodate standard sized glass solvent containers with only a slight clearance, so that the glass container is held in a relatively stationary position within the container, and is protected from external shock by the walls of the carrier. In practice, inwardly-directed ribs are sometimes used in the walls and the bottom to position the container within the carrier, thereby allowing for a cushioning airspace between most of the inner wall of the carrier and the container.
Protective carriers of existing design, however, have not been totally satisfactory because of one or more shortcomings which relate either to their relative safety or ease of use.